Current News

Join us for the Annual Membership Meeting on July 30th. Hosted by Braywood.

Business Meeting at 10:30 am, followed by Educational Event and Picnic.

View the Meeting agenda here.

Please RSVP to moc.liamgnull@enilnoalcre or 920-428-6743.

By Katie Thoresen, WXPR Public Radio

Vilas County will soon require parking permits at many of its parks and boating landings.

“Our use has gone way up with COVID and everything and renewed insurgence of people wanting to get outdoors,” said Todd Bierman, the Vilas County Parks and Recreation Supervisor.

Like much public land during the pandemic, Vilas County has seen the usage of its parks and boating landings increase dramatically in the last few years.

The increased use has also meant more wear and tear on facilities and infrastructure.

“Nothing you put in lasts forever. A need for maintaining it and improving it has come to a point,” said Bierman.

Bierman says the county board unanimously approved implementing the fee system after more than a year of discussion among the forestry, recreation, and land committee.

The money from the fees will go into the county’s general fund.

Read the full story here.

ERCLA Sponsoring Free Vessel Safety Checks

On Saturday, June 3, 2023, the Eagle River Chain of Lakes Association (ERCLA) is partnering with the Central District Chapter of the U.S. Power Squadron to host free vessel safety checks at Riverview Park from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.

The park is located on the south side of the Highway 45 bridge in Eagle River. Bring your vessel by water and park under the bridge, or bring it on a trailer to Riverview Park. The inspection takes less than 15 minutes.

Inspectors are not law enforcement. They are volunteers promoting safe boating, and will answer questions about navigation and talk to you about required safety items needed on your vessel.

When your vessel passes inspection, you will receive a report and sticker.

If you have any questions, please email Michael Queoff or call (262) 707-4214.

ERCLA wishes everyone a fun and safe boating season!

Headwaters Chapter of Muskies, Inc., presents their annual Wisconsin DNR panel presentation on Wednesday, April 5th at 7:00 pm at the VFW Post 8637 in Eagle River (418 West Pine Street).

The DNR Fisheries team will explain their plans for this year in area counties and will answer questions.

Open to the public.

The Unified Lower Eagle River Chain of Lakes Commission held an informational meeting on November 16th.

The colonized EWM chart is a good overview of trends. The ERC Project Conclusions provide a good summary of the presentation.

View all the slides from the presentation at https://eagleriverchaincommission.org/documents/project_results_presentations/ERC_InformationMeeting_11-16-22_1slidePerPage.pdf

Reports and EWM maps are available at https://eagleriverchaincommission.org/lake-reports.html

The 2022 Fall Newsletter is being mailed, and is now available online.

Click on the image to view the Fall 2022 Newsletter.

Click on the image to view the maps.

Amy Roedl from the Vilas County Land and Water Conservation Department worked the 4th of July weekend at the T-Dock boat landing on Yellow Birch Lake inspecting boats and educating boaters regarding Clean Boats and Clean Waters.

Boaters learned how to check their trailers for Eurasian Water Milfoil before launching and when they leave the water to prevent spreading the aquatic invasive species. Amy also shared information about not transporting live bait and fish from lake to lake.

The 2022 Spring Newsletter has mailed, and is now available online.  Click on the image to view the Spring 2022 Newsletter.

Since December 2021, the Vilas County Land, Water and Forestry Committee has been discussing how to better deal with the cost and logistics of maintaining the picnic area on the north portion of Cranberry Island, which is owned by Vilas County.

Over the past few months ERCLA board members and members have been attending the committee meetings. There have also been several letters to the Vilas County News-Review editor in recent months regarding this topic.

The following are some of the issues regarding the island that have been discussed at the last few committee meetings.

• A determination needs to be made as to the condition of the existing pier and then develop a plan to either repair or remove it.
• The toilet situation requires resolution including the cleaning frequency and by whom, or is there a different approach which would be to replace or remove it all together?
• The existing picnic tables needs repair or removal.
• It has been suggested that the existing grills and fire pits be removed all together to prevent any chance of the island catching fire.
• Shoreline erosion requires an evaluation.
• A general maintenance plan including garbage removal requires evaluation.

At the recent April 5th meeting, the committee again discussed all of these issues and determined that some members of the committee will visit the island after ice out to personally observe and review them firsthand in order to develop an accurate account of where things stand. Going forward the committee will then develop a plan regarding upgrading and maintaining the island. ERCLA President Chuck Berg was in attendance and offered ERCLA’s help to develop a plan that would allow ERCLA volunteers to be part of the solution.

Finally, the good news for all ERCLA members who have been concerned about the suggested option to sell the island is that the committee officially voted to take the sale of the island off the table as they move forward in their planning process.

ERCLA will continue to keep you, our members, updated regarding the Cranberry Island plans as they progress.

Please keep in mind we will need your help to maintain the island if that is part of the plan so please contact moc.liamg@enilnoALCRE if you would like to be added to our list of volunteers that will help be part of the solution.

Stay tuned for updates as they come in.